Creative Education
2012. Vol.3, No.1, 30-36
Published Online February 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ce) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2012.31005
30
Exploring Parents’ and Teachers’ Views of Primary Pupils’
Thinking Skills and Problem Solving Skills
Subadrah Nair, Tang Ke ow Ngang
School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Received April 16th, 2011; revised June 11th, 2011; accepted July 2nd, 2011
This article is based on a descriptive study using survey method and focus group interviews. Thinking
skills and problem solving skills are vital for pupils in their daily lives and facing their future challenges.
Therefore, parents and teachers play an important role in nurturing these skills among pupils. The objec-
tive of the study is to explore parents’ and teachers’ views of pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving
skills according to locations of the school (urban and rural). This study also explores parents’ and teach-
ers’ suggestions to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills. The sample consists of 302
parents of the pupils and 104 teachers who are teaching Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. The quantitative data
for the research was collected using questionnaires which were developed by the researchers. Each set of
questionnaire consists of 23 items. While the qualitative data was collected through the focus group inter-
view method among parents and teachers to get their suggestions on how to enhance pupils’ thinking
skills and problem solving skills. The findings show that the urban parents’ views of children’s thinking
skills and problem solving skills is significantly higher than those from the rural. The results also indicate
that there is no significant difference between the urban school teachers’ and the rural school teachers’
views of pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills. Findings from the focus group interviews
show that most parents engage their children in hands on activities at home to enhance their thinking
skills and problem solving skills. On the other hand, teachers encourage active participation of pupils in
co-curricular activities to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Keywords: Thinking Skills; Problem Solving Skills; Teachers’ and Parents’ Views; Urban and Rural
National Schools
Introduction
Thinking skills and problem solving skills are incorporated
in the teaching and learning activities of all the subjects taught
in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. Thinking skills
and problem solving skills are given emphasis in the Malaysian
school curriculum to equip pupils to face challenges in their
daily lives and in their future. It is vital to nurture thinking
skills and problem solving skills among pupils so that they are
able to think critically and creatively in solving problems. Par-
ents and teachers play a very important role in nurturing these
skills among pupils (Ahmed, 2009). In schools, teachers infuse
thinking skills and problem solving skills through various sub-
jects taught in the school curriculum. Effective teachers engage
pupils in various learning activities which encourage the pupil
to think and solve problems (Beyer, 1987). Parents too play an
important role in educating children and they remain the pri-
mary educators of their children (The Learning Community
2011—TLC). Parents can also foster critical thinking at home
by asking questions that lack a single correct answer, and ask
them casually (Duke Gifted Letter, 2006). Meanwhile parents
play a supportive role in helping the children to acquire these
skills. Parents as the role models for children, guide them to be
better thinkers and enhance children’s thinking skills and prob-
lem solving skills.
According to Mumford, Mobley, Uhlman, Reiter-Palmon,
and Doares (1991), there are two types of problem solving such
as creative problem solving and general problem solving. Crea-
tive problem solving is ill defined and ambiguous, have multi-
ple appropriate and acceptable solutions. On the other hand
general problem solving is well defined and have one correct
solution and they do not allow creativity. Beyer (1987) describe
that thinking skills can be taught through six stages such as
introduction of the skill, gradual practice, individual application,
transfer and elaboration, guided practice in new situation and
autonomous use. Guilford (1967), categorized problem solving
as creative and creative production is generated when solving
problems. Problem solvi ng used in this study is creative proble m
solving as such de Bono’s CoRT thinking tools are appropriate
to gauge pupi ls’ cre ative th inking s kills and probl em so lving ski lls.
In this study, pupils thinking skills and problem solving
skills refers to the ability of pupils to generate ideas related to
tasks given to them. The items given in the questionnaires for
parents and teachers are similar and are related to de Bono’s
CoRT thinking tools such as Plus Minus Interesting (PMI),
Consider All Factors (CAF), RULES, Consequences and Se-
quences (C & S), Aims Goals and Objective (AGO), PLAN-
NING, First Important Priority (FIP), Alternatives Possibilities
and Choi ces (APC), DEC ISIONS a nd Othe r Peopl e Views (O PV).
For each item parents and teachers are required to gauge the
ability of pupils, to generate creative ideas according to five
scales such as very high, high, average, low and very low.
Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to investigate whether there is

S. NAIR ET AL.
significant difference in parents’ and teachers’ views of primary
pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills according to
the location of the schools (urban and rural). Besides that, this
study also aims to obtain parents’ and teachers’ suggestions on
how to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving
skills.
Two null hypotheses were teste d at the 0.05 significance level
and two research questions were answered in this study. The
null hypotheses and the research questions ar e a s f ollows:
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the parents’ views
of children’s thinking skills and problem solving skills ac-
cording to location.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the teachers’ views
of pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills according
to location.
Research Question 1: What are the parents’ suggestions to
enhance children’s thinking skills and problem solving skills?
Research Question 2: What are the teachers’ suggestions to
enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills?
Literature Review
Thinking Skills and Problem Solving Skills
Study on thinking skills and problem solving skills has been
great concern among researchers. Dewey (1938) is the pioneer
in developing thinking skills among pupils through reflective
teaching. Some researchers like Bloom (1956), Spache (1978),
Barrett (1972), Smith (1969), encouraged pupils to think by
using questions from the lowest order to the higher orders. De
Bono (1991) proposed CoRT thinking tools to enhance pupils’
thinking skills and problem solving skills. Pupils thinking skills
and creativity can also be enhanced by using mind mapping
(Buzan, 1986) and concept mapping (Novak & Gowin, 1984).
Gardner (1984) explored the theory of multiple intelligences in
enhancing thinking skills and problem solving skills. The seven
intelligences proposed to by Gardner are linguistics, mathe-
matical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and
interpersonal. Amabile (1983), Mumford (2001) and Sternberg
(1988) define creativity with respect to novelty (unique) and
appropriateness.
Nurturing thinking skills and problem solving skills among
pupils is vital in this 21st century to enable them to face the
various challenges in their daily lives and in solving problems
at their work places. According to Campbell and Dickinson
(1996), there are three types of thinking skills, namely problem
solving skills in real situations, skills to generate ideas to solve
new problems and the ability to do or offer useful service in
certain cultures. Tillery (2006) pointed out that the problem
solving skill is an effort to find solutions to difficult situation
where one needs advanced thinking skills in problem solving.
Thinking skills also help a person to choose the ideal strategy to
solve the problem that is being faced.
Schafersman (1991) stressed that teaching critical thinking
skills in the sciences or in any other discipline is to improve the
thinking skills of the student. Clement and Lochhead (1980)
pointed out that “We should be teaching students how to think.
Instead we are teaching them what to think.” (Lochhead, 1980
in Schafersman, 1991: p. 1).
There are two contradictory schools of thought among re-
searchers on how to teach thinking skills to pupils. Clarke
(1990) explained that thinking skills should be infused in the
teaching and learning of every subject in school. Beyer (1991),
Swartz and Parks (1994) and Meyers (1986) also suggested that
thinking skills should be incorporated in the school curriculum.
On the other hand, de Bono (1991) argued that thinking skills
should be taught separately and should not be infused in sub-
jects taught in schools.
In the Malaysian school curriculum, thinking skills and
problem solving skills are emphasized at both the primary and
secondary school levels. Starting from the year 1980, thinking
skills have been infused into subjects in the Primary School
Integrated Curriculum (KBSR) as an added value. These skills
are also continually infused into every subject at the secondary
school level to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem
solving skills. Primary school teachers and secondary school
teachers are also trained to employ various strategies to help
pupils develop their thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Parents and teachers play an important role in developing
pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills. In Malaysia,
research related to parents’ and teachers’ roles in enhancing
pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills is limited. As
such, it is necessary to investigate the parents’ and teachers’
views of primary school pupils’ thinking skills and problem
solving skills and identify their suggestions to enhance those
skills among pupils.
De Bono’s CoRT Thinking Tools
De Bono (1991) in his discussion has elaborated the methods
of teaching thinking skills to students, such as the ‘osmosis’
method (teachers imparting acquired thinking skills to students),
logic regulation, having discussions and using CoRT thinking
tools. Besides that, de Bono also suggested “thinking hats” as a
method to enhance thinking skills.
De Bono’s thinking tools in CoRT1 Breath is to broaden
ones perception in various situations. The ten CoRT thinking
tools by de Bono are mainly Plus Minus and Interesting (PMI),
Consider All Factors (CAF), Rules, Consequences and Se-
quences (C & S), Aims Goals and Objectives (AGO), Planning,
First Important Priority (FIP), Alternatives Possibilities and
Choices (APC), Decision and Other People’s Views (OPV).
The questionnaires prepared by the researchers to gauge par-
ents’ and teachers’ views of pupils’ thinking skills are based on
de Bono’s CoRT thinking tools.
Methodology
Samples
In this study, the researchers used purposive sampling, only
one best class of Year 4, 5 and 6 from each school is used in the
study. This is because some rural schools has only two classes
for each year and some pupils from the second class are slow
readers. As such researchers only choose the best class from the
urban and rural schools.
In addition, researchers also select respondents (parents and
teachers) whose children or pupils in Year 4, 5 and 6 from four
national primary schools (two urban and two rural) in Northern
Zone of Peninsular Malaysia. The original sample saiz is 360
parents and 120 teachers. However, respondents who responded
to the questionnaires are 302 (187 urban and 115 rural) parents
and 104 (53 urban and 51 rural) teachers. The high response
rate as 84 percent for parents and 87 percent for teachers re-
spectively, considered as acceptable. The average age of Year 4

S. NAIR ET AL.
pupils is 10 years old, Year 5 pupils is 11 years old and Year 6
pupils is 12 years old.
Instrument
The instruments used in this study are two sets of question-
naires (one set for the parents and the other set for the teachers).
The researchers developed the questionnaires to measure par-
ents’ and teachers’ views of primary school pupils’ thinking
skills and problem solving skills. Both instruments are based on
de Bono’s (1991) CoRT thinking tools such as PMI, CAF,
RULES, C & S, AGO, PLANNING, FIP, APC, DECISIONS
and OPV and consist of 23 items each. A five-point Likert scale
on a range of 1-5 was used for the questionnaires; with 5 points
indicating very high, 4 points indicating high, 3 points indicat-
ing average, two points indicating low and 1 point indicating
very low.
Besides that, the researchers also developed two sets of
open-ended questions as a guide for the focus group interviews
with parents and teachers. The purpose of the focus group in-
terviews is to get feedback from parents and teachers on how to
enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Validity of the Instruments
Two experts in the area of thinking skills were asked to rate
the questionnaires prepared by the researchers for parents and
teachers using a 10 point scale (1 = very low to 10 = very high).
A few changes were made to the questionnaires as suggested by
the experts. After making the changes, the average rating score
given by the experts was 10/10 for both the parents’ and teach-
ers’ questionnaires. This is explained in Table 1.
Therefore, the results indicate that the questionnaires (to
gauge parents’ and teachers’ views of pupils’ thinking skills
and problem solving skills) are valid and suitable for the study.
Pilot Study
Prior to the main study, a pilot study was carried out to ob-
tain the reliability of the questionnaires used in this research.
The pilot study was carried out over a period of two weeks in
an urban primary school and a rural primary school. A total of
124 parents and 97 teachers were involved in the pilot study.
The reliability of the questionnaires for parents and teachers
was tested using the Reliability Coefficient Alpha. The findings
as shown in Table 2 showed that the alpha values for both
questionnaires are high and as such provide high internal re-
liability.
The semi-structured questions for the focus group interviews
were also tested during the pilot test among parents and teach-
ers, the researchers found that the items were sufficient to ob-
tain information to answer the research questions.
Table 1.
Rating for the questionnaires.
Parent Instrument Teacher i ns t ruments
Expert CV LC CV LC
Expert 1 10 10 10 10
Expert 2 10 10 10 10
Average 10 10 10 10
QA = Questionnaire; CV = Content validity; LC = Language and clari ty.
Table 2.
Alpha value for the questionnaires.
Questionnaires N Alpha
Parent Y4 42 0.93
Parent Y5 30 0.91
Parent Y6 52 0.94
Teacher Y4 30 0.93
Teacher Y5 34 0.92
Teacher Y6 33 0.94
Research Procedure and Analysis
The researchers had permission from the Ministry of Educa-
tion Malaysia to conduct the study based on the requirements of
the implementation procedures. After that, the researchers get
the permission from the Education Department in the Northern
Zone of Peninsular Malaysia, to carry out the research. The
researchers also met the headmasters of the four schools to seek
their readiness and permission in conducting the study. Subse-
quently the senior assistant in the schools helped the research-
ers to identify the teachers and the parents for the focus group
interviews. Only parents and teachers of Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils
are involved in the interviews. The criteria for choosing the
interviewees are their willingness to participate in the interview.
The interviews are recorded and transcribed by the researchers.
The emerging themes from the parents and teachers interviews
were used in the analysis of data.
This study employed both the quantitative and qualitative ap-
proaches. Parents’ and teachers’ views of pupils’ thinking skills
and problem solving skills were obtained through the question-
naire. Parents’ and teachers’ suggestions to enhance pupils’
thinking skills and problem solving skills were derived through
the focus group interviews.
The researchers distributed the questionnaires to the teachers
in the staff room and briefed them on how to give the responses.
The questionnaires for the parents were given to the pupils from
the best classes in Year 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The researchers
went through the questionnaire item by item with the pupils and
requested them to give to their parents to obtain their parents’
responses. The parents’ and teachers’ questionnaire were col-
lected by the researchers and analyzed using the SPSS program
version 18.
Findings and Discussion
Parents’ Views of Children’s Thinking Skills and
Problem Solving Skills According to Location
The findings as indicated from Table 3 showed that the ur-
ban parents’ views of children’s thinking skills and problem
solving skills is higher than those from the rural. The mean
Table 3.
Parents’ views of children’s thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Location N Mean SD t df p
Urban 187 3.7291 .48563
Rural 115 3.4881.46771
4.247 300 .000
32

S. NAIR ET AL.
score for the urban parents’ is 3.7291 and the mean score for
the rural parents is only 3.4881. The independent sample t-test
indicated that the views of urban parents is significantly higher
than the rural parents (t = 4.247, df = 300, p = .000). Thus,
finding reject Ho1 as no significant difference in the parents’
views of children’s thinking skills and problem solving skills
according to location.
Teachers’ Views of Pupils’ Thinking Skills and
Problem Solving Skills According to Location
Table 4 showed that there is no significant difference be-
tween the urban teachers and the rural teachers’ views of pu-
pils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills (t = .423, df =
102, p = .673). The finding indicated that the mean score for
urban teachers is slightly higher (mean = 3.2830) than their
rural counterparts (mean = 3.2464). As such the finding fail to
reject Ho2 as stated that there is no significant difference be-
tween the urban and rural teachers’ views of pupils’ thinking
skills and problem solving skills.
Parents’ Suggestions to Enhance Children’s Thinking
Skills and Problem Solving Skills
All the eight parents from the rural and urban schools agreed
that thinking skills and problem solving skills are important for
children in their daily lives.
Respondent 1 (Urban school 1): Thinking skills are impor-
tant for children because they should be able to think about
what is right and wrong and make the right decisions. We can-
not always tell them what to do.
Some of the parents (50%) from the rural area think that the
children’s levels of thinking skills and problem solving skills
are weak and they need a lot of guidance from the teachers.
Another 50% of the parents from the rural area think that their
children’s levels of thinking skills are at an average level.
However, one parent from the urban school thinks that the
child’s levels of thinking skills and problem solving skills are
high.
Respondent 1 (Urban school 1): My child is matured and has
a high ability in thinking skills and problem solving skills. She
is able to read newspapers fluently and can find information.
She is able to take care of herself and solve problems when
necessary.
Parents from both urban and rural schools gave various sug-
gestions on how to enhance children’s thinking skills and prob-
lem solving skills. Most of the parents think that parents should
engage their children in thinking skills and problem solving
activities while travelling, watching TV, taking dinner and be-
fore going to sleep. Parents’ guidance over children is vital in
helping them solve problems.
Respondent 2 (Rural school 2): I discuss with my son the
various strategies of playing football, such as how to strike a
goal. I also watch World Cup Football matches with my son
and discuss with him the strategies used by the players during
Table 4.
Teachers’ Views of Pupils’ Thinking Skills and Problem Solving Skills.
Location N Mean SD t df p
Urban 53 3.2830 .36293
Rural 51 3.2464 .51125
.423 102 .673
the matches. We also discuss the strength and the weaknesses
of the players; as a football coach I also train my son and the
school team at football.
Some parents think that giving children a balanced diet and
supplements help them with their physical development and
enhance their thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Respondent 2 (Rural school 2): As a father I also take good
care of my son’s food and physical development and always
give him balanced meals and supplements to enhance his fit-
ness and thinking skills. Drinks such as glucose can enhance
children’s energy and thinking skills. Foods such as raisins and
fish protein help to enhance children thinking skills and prob-
lem solving skills.
Most parents engage their children in hands on activities at
home, to enhance their thinking skills and problem solving
skills, such as by training the children to keep the house clean,
to take care of the garden, and to tie different types of knots.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 2): I teach my son how to tie a
bundle using different types of knots; he is able to use this
knowledge during his camping activities in school.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 1): I always encourage my child
to find his own answers when doing his homework. I always
teach him to be independent such as, by training him to wash
his clothes, to tidy his room, to soak his shoes before washing
them and to iron his clothes. I also teach him to water the
plants, trim the plants and take care of the garden. I want him
to be responsible and more independent.
Some parents engage their children in hands on activities
such as bringing them along to the supermarket or wet market,
allowing them to budget the marketing expenses and teaching
them how to choose the items while shopping.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 2): I bring my son along when I
go to the supermarket. I teach him how to choose the food items
by checking the contents and the expiry dates. I also guide him
to do the budget and not to spend lavishly.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 1): I bring my daughter to the
wet market and train her on ways to choose fresh vegetables,
such as choosing ladies fingers by testing if the tail ends break
easily. The fish is fresh if it is not soft and the gills are red in
colour. During the school holidays my daughter helps me to
sell food at the night market.
Some parents commented that teachers are too busy and are
not doing enough to develop their pupils’ thinking skills and
problem solving skills.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 2): Teachers should carry out
“Project Based Learning” in schools. I think most teachers are
not doing this because it involves a lot of work. Through “Pro-
ject Based Learning”, pupils really learn how to think and solve
the problems.
Teachers’ Suggestions to Enhance Pupils’ Thinking
Skills and Problem Solving Skills
All the eight teachers (four from rural schools and four from
urban schools) think that their pupils’ level of thinking skills
and problem solving skills is only at the average level. How-
ever, teachers from the urban area commented that pupils from
good classes have higher ability in thinking skills and problem
solving skills compared to those from weaker classes.
Most of the teachers agreed that infusing thinking skills and
problem solving skills is vital for pupils’ meta-cognitive de-
velopment. These skills are also important because at the end of

S. NAIR ET AL.
Year six, pupils have to sit for the UPSR examination (National
Year 6 Examination). There is 30% of the questions in this
examination are at the lower level, 50% at the average level and
20% are at the higher level. Higher level questions require
higher order thinking and pupils need thinking skills and prob-
lem solving skills to answer those questions. However, most
teachers think that they are too busy in school and they find it
difficult to infuse thinking skills and problem solving skills
among weak pupils in the classroom.
Respondent 2 (Rural School 2): My pupils are too weak and I
find it difficult to infuse thinking skills and problem solving
skills during my lesson. I have to do a lot of “spoon feeding”
and they need a lot of guidance from me.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 2): I think the implementation of
thinking skills and problem solving skills is not effective among
weak pupils but it is fruitful among good pupils.
Teachers from both the rural and urban areas propose various
ways to enhance pupils thinking skills and problem solving
skills. During the co-curriculum activities such as “living skills
program” for scouts, teachers expose pupils to ways of cooking
and being independent through hands on activities.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 1): They learn to cook; they
have to think about how to boil rice, how to do the preparation
to cook and how to serve the rice. They also learn how to sur-
vive in certain situations like when they are lost in the jungle.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 1): During camping activities,
pupils learn how to put up a camp and how to tie the right
knots. Pupils also learn to participate in treasure hunts. These
activities help to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and problem
solving skills.
Respondent 2 (Urban School 1): Members of the Red Cres-
cent Society are given the opportunity to act out an emergency
situation, such as an accident or sustaining injuries and the
members learn to help the victims in that particular situation.
Through these activities, pupils are encouraged to think and
solve problems.
Teachers also infuse thinking skills among pupils during the
school assembly and activities such as dance drama. In some
school assemblies, pupils are challenged with a thinking task,
just to encourage them to think out of the box and to solve
problems. Besides that, teachers engage pupils in problem
solving skills by asking them to organize and present a dance
drama.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 1): During every assembly we
throw a thinking task to pupils and ask them to solve it. For
example, we call out ten pupils to stand in front of the assembly
and ask them to burst some balloons. Pupils from upper pri-
mary classes are also required to put up a show during the
assembly, such as a dance drama. Before presenting the show
pupils are encouraged to think and use their creativity for the
presentation. Teachers allow them to make their own decision
in choosing the characters, writing the dialog, preparing the
costumes, and presenting it in a creative manner. The role of
the teachers is only as a facilitator; the whole show is carried
out by the pupils.
In the classroom some teachers employ various teaching
strategies such as group work and pair work, to encourage pu-
pils to use their thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Teachers prepare worksheets for pupils according to their abil-
ity. Teachers also prepare checklists to record pupils’ develop-
ment from time to time. In short, teachers tailor their teaching
strategies and teaching material to accommodate the diversity
of the pupils in the classroom and actively monitor pupils’ de-
velopment and thinking skills.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 1): We teachers employ differ-
ent teaching strategies according to the ability of the students.
We prepared worksheets with high level challenging questions
for the good classes and easier questions for the weak classes.
We also encourage group work amon g the student s and ask the m
to do group presentations. During group work pupils learn to
generate ideas, solve problems and cooperate with group mem-
bers.
Teachers also engage pupils in various competitions at school
level, district level, and state level, such as the science quiz,
mathematics quiz and cooking competition. While preparing for
the competitions, pupils learn to solve their problems.
Respondent 2 (Rural School 2): Pupils in this school take
part in various competitions at school level, district level and
state level. They take part in the science quiz, mathematics quiz
and cooking competition. Pupils need a lot of general knowl-
edge and thinking skills in order to win the competition. Some-
times, in the science competitions, pupils are given a topic such
as to design a spaceship. Pupils have to think creatively to de-
sign a spaceship; they also have to think of the materials to be
used while modeling the spaceship. We won the competition in
2009 at the district level.
According to teachers, pupils’ thinking skills and problem
solving skills can be developed by taking them on excursions
and visits, such as visiting factories, museums, historical places,
forest reserves, and book exhibitions. During these visits, teach-
ers prepare questions and pupils are required to find the an-
swers. Such activities encourage pupils to be better thinkers,
and learn to solve problems.
Respondent 1 (Rural School 1): Every semester we plan
school educational trips for pupils and we take them to visit
places such as factories, museums, historical places, forest
reserves, and book exhibitions. At the factories, pupils learn
how food stuff, such as biscuits, sweets and sardines are made.
When visiting electronic factories pupils get ideas on how elec-
tronic parts are assembled in making hand phones, television
sets, DVD players and radios.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 1): By visiting museums and
historical places we can broaden pupils’ knowledge and think-
ing skills. Pupils learn to appreciate the contribution of their
forefathers in the development of the country.
Some teachers commented that parents are too ambitious and
examination oriented; they only want their children to be book
worms, attend tuition classes and score straight A’s in their
school subjects. They stop their children from watching TV to-
tally. Pupils can get a lot of good ideas by watching good pro-
grams on TV such as “National Geographic” and the news
broadcasts.
Respondent 1 (Urban School 1): Competition among parents
is very high to the extent they only want their children to be
book worms, attend many tuition classes and score straight A’s
in school subjects. They also stop their children from watching
TV totally. There are a lot of good programs on TV which are
suitable for children, such as National Geographic, Discovery
Channel, Animal Planet and news. Parents should guide child-
ren while watching TV and teach them to adopt and adapt good
ideas from the programs they watch.
Conclusion
The findings of this study revealed that the urban parents’
34

S. NAIR ET AL.
views of children’s thinking skills and problem solving skills is
significantly higher than that of the rural parents. However,
there is no significant difference in the teachers’ views on that
matter. Generally, teachers from urban and rural schools per-
ceive their pupils’ ability in thinking skills and problem solving
skills to be at an average level. On the other hand, parents from
urban schools perceive their children’s ability in thinking skills
and problem solving skills to be at a higher level. The parents
from rural areas perceive children’s thinking skills and problem
solving skills to be at an av er a ge level.
The findings also revealed various methods employed by
teachers and parents to enhance pupils’ thinking skills and
problem solving skills. The findings show that parents should
engage their children in thinking skills and problem solving
skills in their daily activities such as while traveling, watching
TV, taking dinner and before going to sleep. Parents’ guidance
and motivation are important to enhance those skills among
children.
Parents also must make sure that children are given balanced
diet and supplements. Some parents think that it is beneficial to
give their children balanced diets and supplements to enhance
their thinking skills and problem solving skills. Parents should
discuss with their children and encourage them to eat healthy
food such as fruits and salads (Cheney, Favell, Harrison, Hurst,
& Yates; 2010) because healthy foods are important for chil-
dren’s cognitive development. Besides that, parents should also
engage their children on hands on activities such as training the
children to do household chores, shopping at the supermarket,
doing marketing at the wet market, doing the budget and help-
ing parents in their business. Such training enrich children’s
experiences in solving problems and make them more compe-
tent at their thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Some teachers commented that some parents are too exami-
nation oriented to the extent that they only think of giving tui-
tion to their children and drive them to get straight A’s. They
even stop their children from watching TV and only want them
to be book worms. These parents should help and guide their
children to be balanced individuals. Parents should also allow
their children to watch good TV programs and discuss the posi-
tive and negative aspects of the program to enhance their
thinking skills.
With regards to teachers’ suggestions at enhancing pupils
thinking skills and problem solving skills, some teachers com-
mented that they are too busy and find it difficult to infuse
thinking skills and problem solving skills in their classroom
lessons. It is important for the teachers to be competent at vari-
ous skills to help pupils in their thinking skills and problem
solving skills. The ministry of education should conduct courses
for the in service teachers on ways to infuse thinking skills
among pupils of different abilities. This is important, so that
teachers do not neglect the weaker pupils and only concentrate
on the good ones while teaching. The finding from the focus
group interviews also show that teachers should use different
kinds of material to accommodate the diversity of the pupils,
such as using different worksheets for pupils of different levels.
Teachers should encourage active participation of pupils in
co-curricular activities, such as camping, competitions and
learning to give first aid. These activities give a lot of space for
pupils to enhance their thinking skills and problem solving
skills.
Another integral part of developing thinking skills and prob-
lem solving skills is by organizing educational trips for pupils
such as visits to museums, historical places, factories and holi-
day resorts. Teachers should organize such visits to broaden
pupils’ knowledge and thinking skills. Teachers should always
encourage and motivate pupils to think in creative ways and
solve problems.
Some parents mentioned that some teachers are not doing
enough to promote thinking skills and problem solving skills
among pupils. They think that teachers should be more com-
mitted to enhancing pupils’ thinking skills and problem solving
skills. One of the ways is by engaging pupils in “Project Based
Learning” in schools. Through “Project Based Learning” pu-
pils learn a lot of things such as being independent, sharing,
learning to think and solving their own problems. It is hoped
that the findings of this study will give some insight to parents,
teachers and the ministry of education on how to enhance pu-
pils’ thinking skills and problem solving skills.
This study was conducted among parents and teachers from
four primary schools in the state of Kedah situated in the
Northern Zone of Malaysia. I would like to suggest future re-
search to be carried out among parents and teachers from more
primary schools in Malaysia. Similar research can also be car-
ried out among parents and teachers in the secondary schools.
This research did not involve pupils in the focus group inter-
view; it is hoped that future research will include pupils in the
focus group interview so that we can get more information from
the pupils on the activities carried out by teachers in the class-
rooms and suggestions from pupils to enhance their thinking
skills and problem solving skills.
This case study highlighted that parents and teachers play an
important role in developing pupils’ thinking skills and pro-
blem solving skills. However, most of the teachers are having
problems to infuse thinking skills and problem solving skills
among weak pupils because of the time constraint. Consequently,
certain amount of time to practice thinking skills and problem
solving skills through activities should be included in class-
room teaching. Creative education not only isolated to good
pupils but also to weak pupils as well. Developing creative
thinking among the pupils is all depending on the creativity of
their teacher in guiding the pupils to generate new and noble
ideas, and various ways of solving problems.
REFERENCES
Ambreen, A. (2009). Teacher’s role in improving students’ thinking
skills: Moving beyond the “sage on the stage”. Teachers.net Gazette.
URL (last checked 28 March 2009).
http://www.teachers.net/gazette
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: A compo-
nential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
chology, 43, 997-1013. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.43.5.997
Barret, T. C. (1972). Taxonomy of reading 360 monograph. Lexington,
Mass: Ginn A Xerox Education C ompany.
Beyer, B. K. (1987). Practical strategies for the teaching of thinking.
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Beyer, B. K. (1991). Teaching thinking skills: A hand book for secon-
dary school teachers. Boston, MA: Allyn a nd B aco n.
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook 1,
Cognitive Domain. New York: Longman, Gr e en a n d Company.
Buzan, T. (1986). Use of memory. London: BBC Publications.
Campbell, L. Campbell, B. & Dickinson, D. (1996). Teaching and
learning through multiple intelligence. London: Allyn and Bacon.
Cheney, A., Favell, H., Harrison, C., Hurst, G., & Yates, C. (2010).
Thinking through science 2: Teacher’s Book. URL (last checked 7
December 2010).

S. NAIR ET AL.
36
http://www.hoddersanplepages.co.uk/pdfs/tts2TchBk.pdf
Clarke, J. H. (1990). Patterns of thinking. Boston, MA: Allyn and Ba-
con.
De Bono, E. (1991). The direct teaching of thinking in education and
the CoRT method. In Maclure, S. (Ed.), Learning to think thinking to
learn (pp. 3-14). Oxford: Pergamom Press
Dewey, J. (1938). How we think. Revised and expanded edition with
Foreword by Maxine Greene. Houghton: Mifflin.
Duke Gifted Letter. (2006). Enhancing critical-thinking skills in chil-
dren: Tips for parents. UR L (last checked 28 March 2011).
http://www.dukegiftedletter.com
English One Stop Centre. (2001). English syllabus for KBSR (integrated
curriculum for Malaysian Primary School). URL (last checked 25
September 2010). http://ranitaawang.net/page.php?25
Gardner, H. (1984). Frames of mind: Theory of multiple intelligences.
New York, NY: Basic Book Inc .
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York,
NY: Mc Graw-Hill.
Meyers, C. (1986). Teaching students to think critically. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1-10.
Mumford, M. D. (2001). Something old, something new: Revising
Guilford’s conception of creative problem solving. Creativity Re-
search Journal, 13, 267-276. doi:10.1207/S15326934CRJ1334_04
Mumford, M. D., Mobley, M. I., Uhlman, C. E., Reiter-Palmon, R., &
Doares, L. M. (1991). Process analytic models of creative capacities.
Creativity Research Journal, 4, 91-122.
doi:10.1080/10400419109534380
Novak, J. D., & Gowin, D. B. (1984). Learning how to learn. New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Schafersman S. D. (1991). An introduction to critical thinking. URL
(last checked 28 March 2011).
http://www.freeinquiry.com/critical-thinking.html
Smith, N. B. (1969). The many faces of reading comprehension. The
Reading Teacher, 23, 246-260.
Spache, G. D. (1978). Psychological and cultural factors in learning to
read. In: D. Lapp, & J. Flood, (1975). Teaching reading to every
child (p. 7). New York: Mcmillan Publishing Company, Inc.
Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The nature of creativity: Contemporary psy-
chological perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Swartz, R. J., & Parks, S. (1994). Infusing critical and creative thinking
into content instruction. Massachusetts: Critical Thinking Press &
Software.
The Learning Community. (2011). Tips for parents: Parent involvement.
URL (last checked 28 March 201 1 ).
http://www.thelearningcommunity.us
Tillery, B. W. (2006) Problem solving techniques. URL (last checked 5
November 2006).
http://www.dushkin.com/online/study/problemsolving.mhtml